Chris Farley was known for his hilarious portrayals of the likes of an energetic motivational speaker, a Chippendale’s dancer, a lunch lady, Jerry Garcia, Meat Loaf and Newt Gingrich on SNL; he’s also known for having died — like SNL cast member John Belushi — at the young age of 33 of a drug overdose. A trailer for the new documentary I am Chris Farley has surfaced today, and the film seems to look deeper into the potentially destructive weight of sudden fame coupled with an insatiable desire to entertain (via the accounts of other comedians like Mike Meyers, Adam Adnsler, Bob Odenkirk, Bob Saget and David Spade).The film charts Farley’s life from growing up in Wisconsin to joining the Saturday Night Live cast, and ultimately his tragic end.
If you keep up with any sort of culture news from across the pond, you’ll known that England’s Glastonbury festival took place over the weekend. The English display a protective zeal toward the rock-oriented festival, so when a rapper (shock, horror), Kanye West — was announced as a headliner, a petition was started calling for him to be replaced. “So what, any idiot can set up a petition,” you may think. Well er, this one got 135,000 signatures. If you think that you’ve heard this one before, it’s because you have; Jay-Z headlined the festival in 2008 to much the same protests.
Renowned for his wallflower-ish manner, Kanye irked the purists some more when he declared, “I’m the greatest living rock star on the planet.” During his actual set this weekend, a British comedian Lee Nelson ran onstage (and was immediately escorted off), and later tweeted that he “Kanye’d Kanye.” Of course, if you’re more interested in the music more than the controversy, you can watch bits of Kanye’s performance — part of which included a cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” — here. In other Glastonbury news, The Libertines played a surprise 19-song set.
After giving the internet his own brand of motivational speaking, it appears that Shia LeBeouf may have drank his own kool-aid, and believes he can do anything. Like rapping. A video surfaced today showing the actor freestyling some verses… perhaps someone else’s verses. Though worse than any of his “flow” is the sycophancy of those around him who fake ooh and ahh their way through the performance like they’re witnessing a young Tupac. But hey, at least it’s not as bad as Iggy Azalea’s infamous freestyle.